General Phung Quang Thanh (C), Minister of National Defense and head of the Vietnamese delegation at the 6th ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting

(VOV) – The 6^th ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM-6) concluded in Cambodia yesterday with an adoption of a concept paper reviewing the frequency of ADMM-Plus Meetings and a joint declaration reaffirming commitments to enhance regional peace and security. At the event, General Phung Quang Thanh, Minister of National Defense, and head of the Vietnamese delegation, emphasized that although Southeast Asia has successfully maintained peace, stability, cooperation, and development, it still has to deal with security challenges, both traditional and non-traditional. Regarding the complex situation in the East Sea, Thanh asked concerned parties to restrain themselves and conduct peaceful negotiations in line with international laws, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. He added that parties should fully implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) towards the building of a Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea. He reaffirmed Vietnam’s policy of conducting bilateral negotiations to settle disputes between the two sides and said that disputes involving multiple countries and parties should be settled multilaterally. The Vietnamese Minister of Defense proposed strengthening bilateral and multilateral military cooperation in the ADMM and ADMM+ mechanisms to build mutual trust and prevent conflicts.